Single Zero Roulette Vs Double Zero Roulette

31 August 2011

Place your bets is the phrase you will hear in casinos all over the world, it is followed by a mad flurry of players trying to get their chips down on the table before the Croupier announces ‘Rien ne va plus’ a few seconds before the ball drops neatly into the winning number, well at least that is what they would say if you were playing French Roulette.

This is not the only difference that a player will find between a French Roulette table and an American Roulette table because the American game has a double zero on it whereas the French only has the one zero. Does this matter to the player?

It is all a question of percentages, and with American Roulette having the double zero it increases the house percentage by a fraction. Not a big fraction, but just enough to give the house that little extra advantage over the players. Does this really make a huge difference for the gambler?

When talking about percentages they are so small that in reality for the average player who just wants to have a bit of fun on the tables knowing if they win it is an added bonus to an enjoyable evening in a pleasant environment – then the answer is a resounding no, it does not make that much of a difference at all.

Single zero French Roulette will pay out 48.6% if the player places a chip on the outside bets. However, on the double zero American roulette table, it is 47.37% which does not sound a lot to the amateur gambler and it isn’t. This tiny difference in percentages represents an awful lot of money to casinos though and with all the players who place bets on their roulette tables this works out at a huge financial advantage to them which of course means a lot more money in the bank at the end of the year.

The irony of it is that no matter which type of table gamblers choose to sit down at, the chances are stacked against them winning that illusive fortune right from the start, so whether there is a double or single zero in front of them really does not make things any worse. It is a well known fact that the house always wins, the proof is pretty obvious when you look at the huge investments casino owners can afford to make in developing new and more luxurious hotels with casinos or redeveloping existing ones.

Apart from anything else roulette is a fun game to play with simple rules that everyone can get the hang of pretty quickly. The atmosphere around a table on a busy night in a lavish setting will always be an enjoyable occasion for most people who want to try their luck at the tables.It is an interesting and enthralling game for some people who work out different systems thinking that it will improve their chances of winning. But at the end of the day it is ‘lady luck’ herself who decides whether you win or not.